Mechanism for constructing flexible metal tubes and armoring flexible hose or other tubes.



No. 809,561. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906. E. T. GREENFIELD.

MECHANISM FOR GONSTRUGTING'PLEXIBLE METAL TUBES AND ARMORING FLEXIBLE HOSE OR OTHER TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 3. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

m 7 INVENTOR /6 w /1i 41min g 5'. 'MML,

No. 809,561. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

E. T. GREENPIELD. MEGHANISM'POR GONSTRUGTING FLEXIBLE METAL TUBES AND ARMORING INVENTOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

s mw 7 FLEXIBLE HOSE OR OTHER TUBES. APPLICATION FILED DBO. 3, 1904.

4 WITNESSES:

' of the drawing.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN T. GREEN FIELD, OF MONTICELLO, NEW YORK.

mrcmmsm roa consrnucnue FLEXIBLE METAL TUBES AND ARMORING FLEXIBLE HOSE on OTHER TUBES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed December 3, 1904. Serial No. 236,809.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be'it known that'I, EDWIN T. GREENFIELD, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Monticello, county of Sullivan, and State of New York, have made a new and useful Invention in Mechanism for Constructing Flexible Metal Tubes and Armoring Flexible Hose or other Tubes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is directed particularly to an Improvement upon the mechanism disclosed in prior patents granted to me by the United States Patent Oflice 011 the 8th day of August, 1899, and bearing Nos. 630,502 and 630,503, and it has for its object to provide means for constructing flexible metal tubes of relatively lar e diameter or for armoring or covering fiexi le tubes, such as hose-pipes, with a relatively thin flexible armor, and will be fully understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improvement and the manner of using the same, the upper part of the screw-threaded forming-die being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a short section of rubber or equivalent hose armored with a flexible interlocking armor constructed by the mechanism illustrated in Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1 as seen looking at the mechanism from the top toward the bottom of the drawing, the upper surface of the guides for the armoring-strip being broken away on the left, the forming and feeding rolls removed, and the two halves of the screw-threaded forming-dies shown as separated with the upper part of the die shown as rotated through an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees, so as to disclose the interior structure of both parts of the forming-dies and the manner of using the same. Fi 4 is a transverse sectional view taken throug Fig. 2 on the line X X and as seen looking thereat from left to right in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken through 3 on the broken line Y Y and as seen looking thereat from the bottol toward the top Fig. 6 is lh side elevational view of the complete forming-dies, illustrating the side openings through which the formed strips are fed; and Fig. 7 is an end elevational view of the lower part of the first I have ascertained, in the use of the mechanism disclosed in my before-mentioned pat-- ents, that when it becomes necessary to either form a flexible tube of interlockin strips of metal or of a single strip of sue metal where the tubes are of relatively large diameter, either the metal strips must be of such thickness as to give increased stiffness to the interlocking strips or other means must be devised for causing the tube to assume the desired stability, so as to prevent the interlocking parts from being drawn apart when the tube is bent or unduly strained. Where the strip or strips of metal which form the tube or armor are of undue thickness, the

parts of the mechanism are required to be of such size and to possess such strength as necessitate the application of enormous power in forcing the strip or strips through the dies, so as to effect the result in the manner disclosed in the before-mentioned patents. To.

evenness or irregularity of the exterior sur' face of the armormg or any undue compresislion at various parts of the relatively thin ose.

It was possible in the use of the mechanism disclosed in the before-mentioned patents to manufacture flexible tubing of relatively small diameters by using a mandrel, which extended into the body of the forming-die and which prevented any buckling or undue irregular formation of the tubing as it was advanced by the action of the forming and feeding rolls. When, however, it became necessary to manufacture tubing of relatively large diameters or, as before stated, to armor flexible hose in which the hose has comparatively little stability, su'ch mechanism was not practical. It was with a view, therefore, of generally improving the beforementioned mechanism that the present invention was devised, and to this end I have constructed and reduced to practical operation the mechanism disclosed in the accompanying drawings, whereby a flexible tube of any diameter ma be. constructed of one or more relatively t in stri s of flexible metal s irally disposed in cylin rical form, or flexib e hose, such as fireose, may be readily armored with one or more armoring-strips mentioned patents.

forming-dies are designed, as before, to form one a convex and the other a concave spirallyformed strip, the former bein located, as before, without or around the atter and both interlocking, as. clearly shown in Fig. 2.

3 4 constitute the trough, which is provided with convex and concave guideways, 6

' 6 for the metal-tube forming or armoring convex and a concave one in the concave threads of the first ing interlockin spiral stri strips 5 5, said guideways, however, inthe present instance being rovided each with a iding part 7, the function of which will be esoribed later.

The trough and the guideways 6 6 have an angular relation, as before, to the screwthreaded formin dies equal to the pitch of the threads 8 an 9 of said dies and to screwthreaded strengthening-beads 10 10, located art and the other upon the convex threads 0 the second part thereof. For the urpose of successively gliding the first strip which is fed into the st art of the die without the use of a mandrel have devised means in the nature of a curvilinear housing orguideway 1 1, which is substantiallyconcentric with'the first thread of the lower part of the first half of the die, the same being secured thereto by a semicylindrical ring part 13 and a series of screws 12 12, extending into the body part of the die, said housing or guideway performing the function of guiding the entering end of the first strip after it has been given its convex conformation and its longitudinal strengthening corrugation or bead 10, so that as it is continuously forced forward it will partake of the successive spiral conformations of the first part of the die and constitute ultimately a mandrel for the successive spiral convolutions of the-outer or surroundforced through the second gui ewa and t e second half of the spiral'forming- 'e. An examination of Figs. 5 and 6 will clearly illustrate the operation of this housing or guideway upon its cor-- responding strip, a similar housing/for the second outer interlockin strip not eing necessitated by reason of t e fact that the first strip when formed will always constitute a suflicient mandrel therefor. knurled forming and feeding rolls, an 15 15 14 14 re resent corresponding idler-forming rolls, the rolls 14 having each a male bead and the idler-rolls 15 a corresponding female groove for giving ityof tubes of much smaller diameters whenconstructed upon the machine disclosed in my before-mentioned atents. These forming and feeding and i ler rolls are located as were the like parts disclosed in my beforementioned patents in such relation to the troughs 3 4 and guideways 6 6 as to give to the strips the proper conformation, simulta neously forcing them forward, so that as said stri s are advanced the tubing is continuous y formed of spirally-disposed-interlocking strips, and when a flexible hose 19 is being armored the same is completed, as illus trated in Fig. 2.

As the o eration of the mechanism is not substantially different from that disclosed in the before-mentioned patents, further description is not deemed necessary here, the essential points of novelty in the present invention lying in the construction and arrangement of parts of the mechanism in such manner as to form the convex and concave interlocking strips 16 and 17 with their longitudinally disposed corrugations or beads 18, all as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, whether the same be in the nature of a tube constructed of such interlocking spirallydisposed strips or of an armored hose and of any desired diameter, the peculiar structural arrangement of the armor-strips and the manner of applying the same making it possible to armor ose or to manufacture flexible tubloo ing of the nature disclosed of relatively large 'the outer strip, mii'st be of relatively larger diameter than the corresponding rolls which form and feed the first strip, the proportions of these parts being accurately indicated-Q the drawings, which were made from an actual working apparatus.

I do not limit my improvement to the especial details of construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

I make no claim hereinafter to the product which may be made by the use of the mechanism hereinbefore described, as this feature constitutes the subject-matter of an application filed by me in the United States Patent Office on the 24th day 'of October, 1904, and bears Serial No. 229,723.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A machine for forming flexible metal tubes or armoring flexible tubes, such as hose, with spirally-wound strips of metal, embracing means for forming a strengthening corrugation or bead in the direction of the length of the strips, and additional means for giving to said strips spiral tubular conformation.

2. A machine for forming flexible tubes from strips of metal embracing means for giving to said strips strengthening corrugations or beads in the direction of their length; in combination with means for giving them spiral tubular conformation, and additional means for guiding the strips from the firstnamed means to and through the latter.

3. A machine for forming flexible tubes from strips of metal, embracing means for giving to-said strips a concave or convex cross-section and simultaneously producing a longitudinal strengthening corrugation or bead therein; in combination withadditional means for giving to said strips spiral tubular conformation.

4. A machine for forming flexible tubes from a strip of metal, embracing means for simultaneously giving to said strip a concave or a convex cross-section and a longitudinal strengthening corrugation or bead; in combination with means for forming the same into successive tubular spirals and additional means for guiding the strip or strips continuously to the tube-forming means.

5. A machine for forming flexible tubes from strips of metal, embracing means for giving to two such strips respectlvely convex and concave cross-sectlons and an additional longitudinal strengthening corrugation or bead in each; in combination with means for causing said strips to assume a conjoint spiral relation such that the concave and convex spirals interlock.

6. In a machine for forming tubes from strips of metal a screw-threaded forming-die;

' in combination with a housing or guideway for giving to the strip an initial tubular conformation on entering the die, and additional means for forcing the strip endwise through the guideway and the die.

7. In a machine for forming tubes from a strip of metal a forming-die screw-threaded interiorly at such pitch'as will give the desired spiral convolutions to the strip; in combination with a housing or guideway ada ted with the die to give to the strip an initia tubular and s iral conformation; together with means for orcing the strip endwise through the guideway and the screw-threaded die.

8. In a machine for forming tubes from a strip of metal, means for giving to the strip a convex or concave cross-section and for simultaneously advancing or feeding the same forward; in combination with a forming-die screw-threaded interiorly with threads which conform in cross-section with the convex or concave formation of the strip; together with a housing or guideway located concentric with the first thread of the die and adapted to give to the strip its initial tubular and spiral conformation.

9. In a machine for forming tubes from strips of metal, means for advancing or-feeding the same forward endwise; in combination with a forming-die screw-threaded internally with threads which conform to .the sha e and width of the strip and a housing or gui ewa concentric with the first thread of the die or givin to the strip as it is forced into the die its initial curvature and spiral convolution.

10. A forming-die screw-threaded internally and provided with a side opening coinciding with one of the threads thereof; in combinat on with a curvilinear guideway substantially concentric with said thread for giving to a strip of metal when forced into the die an initia curvature and spiral conformation.

11. In a machine for forming tubes from strips of metal a die screw-threaded internally and provided with a side opening coinciding with one of the threads thereof; in combination with a curvilinear guideway substantially concentric with said thread; together with additional means for forcing a strip of metal through the side opening between the thread and the concentric means and successively through the remaining threads of the die.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN T. GREENFIELD. Witnesses:

C. J. KINTNER, M. F. KEATING. 

